#(which is backfiring to an INCREDIBLE degree)

[tangled-pixel-harpsichord]

TW: discussions of the invasion of Ukraine, anti-Semitism, genocide, death, and Nazism

Caveat: I do not live in Ukraine or Russia, I am an American with a vested interest in Ukraine bc I have family there (including my little brother), but listen to actual Ukrainians please.

Looking at the talk around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I’m seeing a few folks pointing out how odd it is that Putin is citing “getting rid of Nazis in Ukraine’s government” as a reason for his unsactioned invasion, given Volodymyr Zelenskyy is, you know, Jewish. As many have already pointed out, there is a far-right nationalist movement in Ukraine, including a contingent of vocal neonazis. This is bad, we all agree. But this group doesn’t control the government, especially not to the same extent the far right controls the government of, say, the US.

BUT, what nobody has said, because it isn’t taught in the West for some godDAMN reason, is that the Nazis targeted Slavs and Soviet citizens for genocide too. Slavs were sent to concentration camps and killed en mass. In much greater numbers than any other group. Putin is drawing on very real, very powerful memories of an attempted genocide to try to convince Russians to support and carry out his attack on fellow victims of that same attempted genocide.

Real shitty thing to do, but at least now you know why.

(We’re not gonna get into the fact that a lot of the Soviet victims were from modern-day Ukraine because this isn’t about convincing you that Putin is doing horrific things. You already knew that. I WILL mention it though, because the West has a habit of equating the Soviet Union and modern-day Russia, which is a mistake)

Tldr: the Nazis killed an estimated 12 MILLION Slavs during the Holocaust and Putin is trying to use that horrific trauma to convince Russians to commit more genocide.

[m-s-justice]

thinking about the Richtofens again and their relation to the narrative.

Like you cannot deny that Ultimis Richtofen was the protagonist of early zombies. Protagonist, not hero. Important distinction. How BO1 was him literally all about him stealing narrative dominance from Samantha, who was arguably one of the most important and sympathetic character, not to mention incredibly relevant as she was the main antagonisy. Then BO2 came along and his power was contested, which was obviously the next step in the evolution of the story. Give a character power, and then have that power be tested. There we have the interesting route of Richtofen failing that test.

Of course, we know that's most likely because of Victis' reception at the time and the success of the Blundell maps, but in story is definitely represents a shift in narrative power, the person driving the plot. I think that is represented best by Monty's handling of the "Original" Maxis when he arrives in the house with Samantha, being that he wiped him from existence. Maxis was apparently strong enough to depose of Richtofen while he was in the MPD (the closest thing to god-like status we had see so far), swap out his soul (something Richtofen needed an entire meteorite and vril device to do), and ascend to Agartha. For Maxis to be erased like that means whoever did it was way more powerful than anything we've seen before. It was indicative of a shift in the narrative, both in terms of scale and character. No more Nazi experiments or Illuminati conspiracies, we're going magical multi-dimensional, boys!

But afterwards Ultimis never really got that dominance back. Going forward he was certainly a powerful personality and retained relevance (like communicating to Stulinger and serving as a parallel to Pernell), but he never got the narrative into a stranglehold like he had before.

Then we're introduced to primis. While Primis Ed never really "seized power", but he definitely drove the plot. He single-handedly kept that cycle perpetuated. He had all sorts of plots, even needing a tie-in comic to explain, which is insane. Primis Ed got his own side story. Boss bitch move. So basically complete dominance of the narrative is transferred to him, with Samantha not even contesting him, Monty being too passive, and the Shadowman busying himself by rooming with the rest of Ultimis in the Ball. But Primis has the unfortunate luck of having his story be a doomed one. No matter what he does, he will always end (and begin) the same way. And he cannot break free from that, because it's him that's causing it. It isn't until he gives up his role as leader that things get moving again. It's all very tragic and no doubt extremely frustrating for him.

And it's such a fascinating thing to pick up and look at. These guys are both such forces of nature, they make things happen, and they even succeed to varying degrees, but they will ultimately fail every time. They will try and try and try and try but never get what they want. They want to be important and powerful and respected and relevant. And for a while, their own drive and determination allows for that, but then that drives flips. It backfires on them in some way, always their own fault (Ultimis teleporting Maxis and Samantha fails to not only kill them but allows them to orchestrate his downfall, Primis knowingly locking himself and his team in a time loop that can only be broken by his own death.)

[an-aura-about-you]

am I really gonna move on with another chapter of Handbook for Mortals right now?

why yes, yes I am. because I know what comes next in this chapter, too, and I have no idea what this recap is gonna look like.

Chapter 15:

when we last left our hero, Scheherazade's relationship is on the rocks due to a make out with tongue misunderstanding that she decided not to clear up the easiest way possible and now Mac has left the show.

Chapter 15: The Tower

-the card chosen for the chapter title is actually relevant for once.

-staying true to the rest of the book so far, we skip over the entire show and go straight to the finale. we're finally gonna see a magic trick Zade performs for her job besides the high dive trick she auditioned with.

-Zade has decided to use "complex deep chaos-based magick" for this trick, which is dangerous because it can backfire if not done correctly. she does this because..... why does she do this?

once again all of Zeb's concern is 100% warranted.

-Zade has never done anything this hard or complex before, which means now is clearly a great time to start.

-Sofia got her singing job. good for her. glad to see she's living the dream. <3

-we've already started on the Incredibly Dangerous Illusion and Zade's mind is wandering to Mac. good start!

-she is, for some reason, conflicted about what she should say to Mac about who Charles is to her.

-ok so we've got the first bit of what this illusion does: generates a storm indoors. okay. neat.

-Zade reminds us twice in two back to back paragraphs that the power she's messing with is both strong and volatile AND that she hasn't quite mastered it yet. again, solid plan here. can't see how it might go wrong. definitely something you should do for Knockoff David Daddy Copperfield.

-"...it can all go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks real quick."

this book is supposedly not a YA book.

-Charles has been narrating her illusion, and she says he's a gifted storyteller like all magicians should be, but the whole purpose of magician patter is misdirection! something Charles doesn't need to provide in an illusion using Real Fucking Magic.

-next part of the illusion: the storm makes a wave crash over Zade, causing her to disappear.

-next part: rain from the storm turns to sand as it hits the stage and piles up only to be struck by lightning, leaving a glass sculpture of Zade. I feel like I'm watching a knockoff Salvador Dali painting come to life.

-we get a warning that Zade is Not Feeling So Great at this stage of the illusion.

-next part: another lighting strike, this one producing a rapidly growing apple tree complete with full grown man that falls out of it.

-"I could actually feel the wonder in the audience." really? because I kinda feel the way I would had someone put on a tame knockoff of a Lynch movie at a planetarium. I would think it's a nice visual thing with some obvious human parts working in it, but my own guess as an audience member would be this was some kind of shadowcast projection thing. all of it is impossible to such a degree that no sleight of hand is feasible for it. so without the explanation that it's all Real Actual Magic, the obvious fill in is this is some really good special effects and Zade actually isn't doing anything except acting against a projection. kinda like the Liam Neeson stuff in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

she is, by all appearances, doing less than an actual magician's assistant would since I learned from the Breaking the Magician's Code specials that a lot of magic tricks rely on the skills of a well trained assistant or assistants.

-they throw some apples from the apple tree as a proof that it's real, which is the first thing that could possibly have a sleight of hand counterpart and thus is the first thing I as an audience member would consider a magic trick in all this.

-also are we sure chaos-magick apples are safe to eat?

-let's see, the man chops the apple tree down, wood chips fly into the audience. again, I would consider this bit a possible trick, but all of it feels like I'm just in some kind of interactive show? you know like the ones where you're like on the river rapids and it sprays water on you? this just doesn't feel like a magic trick overall, it feels like watching a short story.

-"If anyone had doubted it was a real tree they would have had to believe it at this point." no they wouldn't because it's not difficult to project the image of a falling tree, make the sound of a tree crashing into a stage, and throwing wood chips into the audience. also, why would you WANT them to think it's a real tree when you are trying to keep your magic SECRET?

-tree catches fire somehow (it is not specified as an explosion, but even then I don't know if any apple trees are also explody trees?) and a wind blows the sand up, blocking this from view.

-sand settles, fire and tree are gone, replaced by a wardrobe. the man opens the wardrobe to show it's empty, closes it, opens it again to take out a guitar and start playing. again, all things that are simple to do with projection and a sound system.

-he also puts the glass sculpture of Zade in the wardrobe

-Zade is feeling even worse and tells us she has to hold it together for just a bit longer because the illusion is almost done. good.

-wardrobe is struck by lightning, splits in two, and Zade is revealed. she then pulls an apple from her pocket, takes a bite, and faints. the man catches her, kisses her, and she wakes up. she gives him a bite of the apple, he disappears. so the man appearing and disappearing could be an illusion. that makes like 2-3 disappearing/reappearing tricks all in one with a whole bunch of special effects around them that I don't care about.

you know what's more impressive to me? the simple illusions. in fact, one of the ones that still gets me every time I see it is how the Phantom disappears at the end of The Phantom of the Opera as performed at the Royal Albert Hall. it's a simple but effective execution and stands out even more since it's not a magic show but a musical.

but this, this is SUPPOSED to be a magic show! there should be a LOT of magic! and it can be impressive to see multiple displays of the same kind of trick, especially with a specialist in it, but the thing about disappearing/reappearing act is it's the same visuals over and over again! idk maybe that's my bias since I tend to not care as much for disappearing acts, but I literally just cited a disappearing illusion as a favorite!

here, let's look at a simpler display I find more impressive than whatever the fuck Zade is doing with chaos magick. this is Francis Tabary, a magician who specializes in rope illusions:

I first saw a variation of this routine in the mid-90s on The World's Greatest Magic and I still enjoy seeing it. every single trick is just done with a rope, but it is visually varied and interesting. I get the feeling I could be sitting less than three feet away from him and I still wouldn't be able to fully see how he does it.

(also I love when he has to do his patter in English because he says, "I hope you will understand what I say and not what I do.")

-that was a nice detour and now I'm gonna go back to the book.

-Charles puts the cloak on Zade, who feels like she's dying inside. Me Too, Girl.

-lightning strikes Zade and she disappears. apparently with the magic going wrong she actually felt the lighting. why would you subject yourself to this when you didn't have to? literally you didn't have to. there was no reason to do a trick like this. why did you build the trick like this?

-Charles then picks up an apple, takes a bite, and disappears. that's it, the trick is finally over after 10 pages of description. this is the thing Zade has been working on with Charles that merited a big red carpet premiere. I want my $2 for the children's admission ticket for the planetarium field trip back.

-pfffff piece of shit dad out there taking his bows not even noticing that Zade's not out there to bow with him because she's suffering from magic internal bleeding.

-also, damn, gotta say Cam's doing a good job running this show on the fly. not one missed cue! that we know about, anyway. let's be real, that does seem like even odds on this being either a detail Sarem would ignore completely or would spend a solid 2/5ths of the chapter going over.

-the cat is sitting on the book again. also me, he is sitting on me.

-Zade manages to collapse in Zeb's arms, which wouldn't have been her first choice because she'd much rather do that with Jackson. but Zeb is like one of the few people who's gonna know what's going on! this is like the ideal situation once shit's fucked!

-Zade tells the gang backstage to call her mother before things go black.

then we get this:

That's the last thing I personally remembered from that day. Later, after I'd had some time to rest, I pulled out the memories of what everyone else saw and what happened.

so good news, we know Zade is gonna be perfectly fine! no need to worry about pesky things like tension!

-apparently fucking the magic up enough has left Zade in a state where she's practically choking on her own blood.

-Mac came back in time for all this btw. and instead of anyone trying to put Zade down in the recovery position (which idk if that's even appropriate for this but that seems moot since magic malady) or listen to the 911 dispatcher that Tad had Riley call, they just let Mac take over holding Zade.

-oh my god, even with all this going on, Zade notices in the memories that Zeb looks somewhat upset and thinks, "Maybe he didn't hate me after all." priorities.

-Charles says he's going with Mac to the hospital, and Mac is burned by this but at least has the good sense not to argue right now.

-omg Zade has to tell us the memories are painful to see because all of the people who love her are hurting soooooo much to see her suffering~

-Mac has enough of himself put together to be pissed at having to drive Charles and Charles is too upset to notice.

-Zade is actually getting care from a doctor that is implied to be the head doctor of the hospital. nothing but the finest for our mary sue.

-oh boy here we fucking go guys: the doctor asks for a member of the family since Zade is unconscious and can't consent. after being pressed, Charles reveals that he's Zade's father.

was it worth it?

-Mac then says he saw Charles and Zade kiss, which clearly grosses Charles out. also a lie since remember he couldn't bare [sic] to watch Zade and Spellman kiss.

-I don't know why Mac needs to talk about this now when the doctor obviously needs somebody to give the go-ahead on something. which also doesn't make sense to me because it seems like they could still do something to at least stabilize Zade, but maybe they're at that point and it's just not specified.

-omg Mac asks Charles if Zade knew this and he said yes. the book is right here confirming that Zade has known that Charles is her father. 0 excuses for any of the bullshit she's been pulling.

-apparently Zade found out recently, but by "recently" we mean "since basically the start of the book and that's when she came to work for him," which still means "the whole time," for our purposes.

ok to be fair it is not made clear if she knew before or after she actually got the job. it's possible this reveal happened during the conversation we were not made privy to in chapter 2. but it's ambiguous enough that it's possible Zade has known since chapter 0.

-Mac rethinks everything and considers how it makes sense now, but I still thing Zade's behavior has incestuous tones, like how she tried to reassure Mac about Spellman taking her to dinner with, "A girl's gotta eat." Zade obfuscated everything in the worst possible way when she could have used other tactics.

-also as far as why Charles hasn't said anything until now, he said he was abiding by Dela's wish to keep it secret. it is not made clear if this is some kind of binding magic taboo or not. it's certainly implied to be, but so far we haven't been made aware of the terms of this taboo. which seems pretty important since not only has he just broken it by telling the doctor, it seems possible that he ALSO broke it by telling Zade!

this also puts chapter 0 in a different light if the catalyst for Zade leaving home was finding out Spellman is her father, which would actually make sense. but again, if that's the case, then that means Zade knew the entire time and has been emotionally tormenting Mac for no good reason.

-I Would Like It If This Book Stopped Talking About The Concept Of Zade And Her Dad Making Out.

-Charles then tells Mac that Zade kissed him on the cheek, making the make out with tongue paragraph from the last chapter even worse since we were just gonna see the same thing in THIS chapter!

-Mac said Zade wasn't lying, but she was!! it's called lying by omission! she was intentionally leaving important information out!

That!

Is!

Lying!!!!!!

-oh hey Lambo Girl is here! she's here just to be seen for some reason. who knows why.

-the doctor makes an offhand mention of Dr. House and the book grinds to a halt for a full page to explain who House is because Charles didn't get the reference.

-man, it's so sad seeing Zade in her ICU hospital bed all covered in IV lines and tubes knowing full well she's gonna be perfectly fine by the end of the book.

-Dela calls Charles right after they all get settled in the room. damn, this is what you're using your magic for?

-Dela knows what's wrong. Charles suggests she come to Las Vegas. Dela insists they have to bring Zade to Tennessee. WHY? doesn't this sound like the more dangerous thing to do?

-Dela's explanation is that she needs her tools and her altar. I'm calling bullshit. you can bring your tools and build an altar where you need to. even if it needs like a special altar, you don't think you can find one in Vegas? we already know there are other people who know magic here; if it's like a church thing where it doesn't have to be an altar you build yourself, why not use one there? and if it has to be one you made, why not make one? this just sounds like putting your daughter through needless risk.

-"She could die. Couldn't she?" but she won't because she's telling the story.

-Dela is laying out tarot cards during this conversation. "She examined the cards carefully as if she were deciphering a code. That's kind of how reading cards goes." the narration says that like it hasn't shown us Zade doing the most incompetent card reading I have ever seen.

-why is Zade giving us a tarot card lesson while recounting her near-death experience?

-"Only sometimes can you change your destiny but that is hard and is a subject for another time and a later book." are you seriously giving me your discount knockoff May Those Who Accept Their Fate Be Granted Happiness, May Those Who Defy Their Fate Be Granted Glory speech, Miss "The Cards Haven't Told Me Which Boy I Should Marry"? not to mention a Michael Ende-esque hint to tantalize at another book.

-we get a full paragraph to explain the waxing and waning moon. not just the significance of those times in witchcraft, which even that's dumbed down, but what waxing and waning themselves mean.

you've literally covered this book with the triple moon symbol.

also Dela mentions the moon is waning. this could have been the opening to give the context that would explain it without having to go all baby dictionary on us, like saying the spell will have to be done on the night of the new moon.

-I'm glad the doctor likewise thinks letting Zade fly to Tennessee in her condition is nutso bananas.

-oof, the doctor's gonna make Charles sign a release that he understands that Zade is now his responsibility and that this may kill her. his priority, according to the narration, is avoiding a lawsuit. good god, does ANYONE in this book have even a shred of compassion? possibly not considering Sarem's callousness.

and the chapter ends with Charles telling Mac the two of them need to take Zade to Tennessee and reaffirming everything we had just learned from Dela.

just to rephrase this, the chapter ends with our big strong powerful honest to goodness magic using not like other girls protagonist at death's door for reasons that are pretty much her fault and needing to be rescued by her mother, her father, and the guy she's been kissing but they have not defined their relationship and parted on bad terms when they last saw each other and also she's been lying by omission to him. I think that covers everything.

[nvzblgrrl]

I get irritated by posts treating the Eighth Doctor as being inoffensively perfect.

Like god, I like the character, but there's so many conversations to be had about his problems, directly and metatextually.

You have a character who's 'defining' period was a post-regeneration episode (meaning that his writing is as generic as it gets because the writers haven't settled on all the themes for the new Doctor yet) which featured amnesia, body horror/torture, and romance - which, for a lack of other 'first degree' canon for him, became the major themes for Eight for years after; even the 'highly skeptical companion' maintains theme unless that companion was inherited from another Doctor, even when it doesn't make sense (ex: Charley maintaining a high skepticism about most of what Eight is about in Storm Warning even though she has no reason not to believe him about certain things - except when the plot needs her to do an about-face and trust him to a degree far greater than she reasonably should). Eight also suffers from having three main 'canons' - the EDAs, the DWM comics, and then Big Finish (which took over as his main post revival), all of which drew from the problems laid down by my previous point ('source' is one TV movie post-regen story rather than even one season's worth of episodes with a variety of themes to choose from) and further hampered by their own issues; the EDAs inherit a certain amount of the VNAs excessive darkness and ability to exceed conventional ratings (thus stapling in the body horror aspects, on top of romance), DWM leans on a fairly generic characterization which is 'nice' (the same thing happened with their version of the Sixth Doctor), and then Big Finish comes in after 5 years of that all cooking and tries to work with what they have there... which is still a rather generic Doctor...

Eight, as all Doctors really are, is written as a counter-argument to their predecessor, but with the disadvantage of that conversation being with the distorted idea of the Seventh Doctor as a near malign force thanks to how the VNAs took the character and his relationship with his companions (Ace in particular) being viewed from a biased point of view (Ace being a very opinionated character at the best of times), which means that Eight's part of the conversation is born distorted - but since it's in contrast to a 'negative' distortion and his own traits tending towards the 'nicely generic', his looks more favorable in contrast.

However, if one is willing to scratch the surface more (and I do think that this is addressed directly by writers, rather than the fans), you find a Doctor who's conversation with his predecessor gets better with time and exploration.

Eight, in his conversation with his predecessor, has almost become 'the Anti-Doctor' - not in the sense of being actively evil, like the Time Lord Victorious or the Valeyard, or doing harm like the War Doctor, but in being incredibly passive and avoidant of committing to things that he would rather perform or reduce his own actions to petty empty gestures than even run the risk of committing himself to an action that could backfire.

This Doctor has on two different occasions, failed to regenerate because he didn't have even the willpower to pass the torch onto the next incarnation, despite (or, more likely because of) his first choice in a lot of scenarios being 'self-sacrifice time' - in the second case, because a War he'd been avoiding (because he didn't want it to be /his fault/ if it went bad despite it already going bad in the first place) led to him meeting a potential companion that rejected him automatically because of him being a Time Lord (so the sacrifice there was effectively for nothing). Yes, Eight tries to sell himself as being a bastion of determination... but that's a carry over from the previous faces, not this one's own trait.

As for commitment... look, this Doctor tried to walk back saying 'I love you'. He never makes plans, he rarely ever accepts that maybe Seven had a little bit of a point about 'keeping track of things', and he just falls back on doomerism with a... distressing repetition that does however fit with the fact that this is the Doctor most likely to fail a regeneration. He's a pinball protagonist that other characters point out simply has no motive to do anything without an opposing force.

Like, again, I'm not a hater - I just wish people were willing to play with and have a conversation with this Doctor in a meaningful way, rather than focus on the superficial... which I myself did in the past, which is part of why I'm so thorny about it now. Superficiality is boring in Doctor Who - engage with the characters and their flaws just as much as their strengths and turn them into better stories.

[theobailey]

Theo Andreas Bailey

38 years of age. Greek. Translator & ancient languages consultant. Twin dad. Blue Harbor resident. ♿

thick and unruly hair, chewing mints, coffee and energy drinks beat water any day, unsolicited advices, secretly geek but proudly Greek, unreadable handwriting, crying over the library of Alexandria when drunk―just generally crying when drunk. Cursing medieval monks in the middle of the night, the sound of metal crutches on the floor, self deprecating jokes with a bittersweet layer of truth, poetry with shirts buttoned the wrong way― shirts unbuttoned all the way. Romantic with a capital R.

Wanted Connections & Full Biography

TLDR;

Born in Greece to unknown (and supposedly deceased) parents and raised at an orphanage.

Has cerebral palsy due to prematurity, affecting his legs. Uses mobility aids such as forearm crutches to get around as well as a wheelchair.

Adopted by the incredible academic and adventurous couple Dr. Jasmine and Richard Bailey at age 6, has lived all over the world growing up, especially between Egypt, England and Brazil.

Attended Cambridge University and led a very bohemian, lewd life. Drank a bunch. Made a lot of mistakes. Disappointed his parents and never reached his full potential.

A prodigious polyglot from infancy, has made translation his entire career, as a consultant in ancient languages.

Had a long term girlfriend who he broke up with before moving to Blue Harbor, where his family is currently residing. He's been in BP for about three years now.

Has recently found out that his mother is actually alive and well living as a nun in Greece.

He got his best friend, Dylan Westwick, pregnant and fell in love with her. Now he's a dad to twin babies, and are building a house by the lake. He wants (and should) propose soon.

PERSONALITY

"Mansplain, manipulate & manwhore."Dramatic and tragic, exaggerated and excessive, passionate, caring, sensitive, charming and eloquent, daydreamer and a visionary, procrastinator, chaotic, internally insecure yet externally confident, impulsive and genuine, self-deprecating and self-critical, troubled

INSPO.

Lord Byron . Percy Shelley . Cyrano de Bergerac (Cyrano) . Randall Pearson (This is Us) . Matt Murdock (Daredevil) .Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby). Dmitri Karamazov (The Karamazov Brothers)

DETAILS;

Theo Andreas Bailey was born prematurely in Greece and grew up at an orphanage in Athens. Due to his early birth and lack of proper medical care, he has cerebral palsy, affecting mostly his lower limbs and making him dependent on mobility aids, mainly forearm crutches and orthosis, but also a wheelchair.

He was adopted at age six by the Baileys, this insanely academically accomplished couple, who took him to England and would later adopt another child (Nilay). He struggles a little with his adoption --- he thought of himself a little like damaged goods, too old and too much trouble with his medical history, so he felt like he had to prove his worth. He kept putting pressure on himself to do better, always.

He was super skilled and insanely smart from an early age, picking up easily on multiple languages, but it backfired. The pressure built itself to the point where he started having panic attacks and seizures, which he (stupidly) tried to hide, again, not wanting to cause any trouble to his loving family.

Once he was a student in Cambridge, things changed drastically. Instead of chasing achievements, now he would drink too much, party too hard and neglect his studies. He was wasting his potential, everyone knew it --- he knew it. He did get a Masters and a PhD, though, in anthropological linguistics, because that’s what Baileys do.

Contrary to his family, he for a while he barely used his degrees and expertise. He works as an academic translator and lived an essentially empty life, hopping countries, drinking too much and not caring about a lot. He says it’s the ideal life and yet, deep down, he does that out of fear that by having a real job, in real academia, he would be bringing back his old habits and that way triggering his seizures and panic attacks.

He came to Blue Harbor after his sister and parents did. He’d been recently dumped by a long term girlfriend and was a little broken-hearted still. He had a mid-thirties crisis back in London when he looked at his life and saw nothing of substance there.

Recently found out that his birth mom is alive and a nun back in Greece, which shook him up a bit.

Got Dylan Westwick, his best friend, pregnant with twins due in January 2024, Leda and Lysander. Their relationship status is still very confusing, they're still trying to figure it out, but he's definitely proposing soon.

[viktoriamagrey]

At some point we're going to have to talk about how much damage social media has done to certain groups of vulnerable, mentally ill people by convincing them a certain thing is supposed to be their entire personality or something to completely accept rather than work on. This milquetoast approach, this shrugging of the shoulders and simply telling people that they're "fine the way they are" and that they don't have to do anything, that they just need "more support from others" (as if that solves their problems) is backfiring really badly on people who really don't need even more cushioning from their problems. In certain online pockets, it has actually alienated people who seek recovery from their own spaces by creating an echochamber of despair that makes people even more likely to scowl at the entire concept of accountability, or acknowledging the part they play in their issues. It just goes back to a basic problem with identity "culture". If you convince an entire group of people that they are always the victim for simply being who they are, they never have to be held accountable for anything, no matter how much it affects them or others. That's why so many people crave an identity to latch onto, and why it's such a dangerous mindset to have towards mental illness in particular.

...I'm really resentful of this mentality, because to some degree I fear that all it has done in the end is make certain types of people even less likely to seek help or treatment, simply scapegoating other people or pointing to "the stigma" as an excuse whenever anything negative is said, which is what happens when people overidentify so much with the broader strokes of a mental illness; that even just admitting its negative impacts is viewed as a big, personal attack. Those that really do need to hear more acceptance usually just stay completely out of the conversation to avoid being associated with certain, more conflictive types of people, and only get to see negative comments being made from either side.

It's incredibly disheartening to see. I understand that certain things arose as a direct response to the villification of mental illness, which is definitely a problem that is still very much in the process of being addressed at all in some ways. But there are plenty of people who could definitely use a much bigger push and are not getting that because people think that if you don't treat the very mention of everyone's condition with kid-gloves you may be "responsible" for someone being hurt or otherwise hurting themselves. The thing is, that's not anyone's responsibility but the person's. (I've seen so many comments on videos on mental health topics where people confess to going there specifically to self-harm. Does that mean we shouldn't talk about them?) If it's just the truth, you should be allowed to speak it. There are certain comments you seem to be not allowed to make, no matter how much they're backed up by people who know what they're talking about (even just part of a diagnostic criteria!); simply because you're supposed to avoid upsetting the "vulnerable" group who somehow always keeps finding their way back to the things that they want to get mad at specifically to yell at you about it instead of focusing on recovery.

[kieranduffygirlporn]

gonna talk a bit about what it's been like for me the past couple days. just need to be heard and to type out all my thoughts & feelings about being an introject w/ an introject partner in all this. Hopefully you'll get something out of this

tw for abuse, disordered eating, very BPD happenings, one moment of suicidal ideation

warning: really fucking long and not the most organized thing in the world

I never talked about this here or really anywhere on any other blog but hi. I'm Ida. I'm the second host @/dearfauxpas and our system has seen since our syscovery. .... past this I literally cannot start to describe my identity without talking about Wilbur. I'm sat here struggling to conjure anything.

The reason for this is twofold. I, myself, am an introject, of a bit of art we have at the beginning of our main/art blog that kind of backfired because we never ended up posting much art. The second reason, and the main reason, is that my boyfriend is a cc!Wilbur introject in our system.

When we started dating two years ago, I was at probably one of the lowest points that I have been at as an alter myself. It was a month after I formed and I was still incredibly attached to my source. When I formed and even today, I am still the only alter in the system who has a feminine aligned gender. I changed my name to Ida the night I formed because I named myself after a pet I had in-source. My source (I'm sure you'll be shocked to know) was incredibly mentally ill, and as a result, I formed as a symptom holder for our worsening borderline symptoms. I've also only started talking about this to very close friends within the past couple days but our early relationship/the first six months was tumultuous. I was possessive, obsessive, and paranoid. I also had issues with thoughts of disordered eating and at one point went four days eating about the caloric equivalent of a single bagel per day because I was so depressed.

My system and particularly my love saved me. Over time, my paranoia that he'd leave me subsided, and we become much happier, which is what lead to me becoming the host as our previous host's mental health declined due to many factors.

During the span of our relationship, we played a lot into our introject identities (sootcest lmfao). I became a lot more independent from my source and recovered from a lot of my paranoia. I thought I had simply beaten our BPD traits, and that they were gone forever (with one exception). I thought my disordered eating thoughts had vanished and I was going to spend forever happy with him.

However, foolishly, because of this play we did with our introject identities, I allowed my feelings for my boyfriend to mix with my feelings for the actual person. I tried to maintain a degree of separation between the two, in that I would refrain from doing weird stalker shit and at some points I would be made uncomfortable with the stuff that he shared on stream because I wanted to know very little about him personally. But I let them mix, because hey, why not? We were having fun. There's no reason not to. It's not like he's an awful person, right?

Right?

Part 2: He's an awful person

There were a few points in which, mostly when other CC drama was at a high point, I'd ask myself a couple questions.

1. What would I do if my boyfriend ever left me?

2. What would I do if it came to light that Wilbur was a horrible human being?

The answer to number one was the exception to the thought that all my borderline symptoms had simply vanished, and, rather well-adjustedly, it was "Kill myself."* (*Like in headspace. I never thought it was worth it to kill the whole body over my own issues.)

The answer to number two was "I don't know."

And that is how I've been feeling since Wednesday night. I don't know.

At first, I thought there was no way it could be true. I searched for any information that could tell me that people were wrong. I literally blocked myself from Twitter because I knew going on it would be a form of emotional self-harm, but I obsessively checked tags on discourse, Shelby, and Wilbur, waiting for anyone to post any evidence that it wasn't so. I spent an entire day outside of home feeling completely nauseous any time I wasn't directly talking to someone.

It's hard to articulate exactly what it felt like once I got home to charge my phone and I knew. It was kind of slow. Every new piece of information I learned made it worse and worse until it was just undeniable.

It was like everything I thought I had buried came back with a vengeance. I stopped eating and drinking, my entire brain felt like it short circuited and previously when I had at least been able to focus on other things for short stints, he was all I could think about.

There were times, especially after I thought I had gotten rid of the borderline traits, that I would become hyperfixated on something that was my boyfriend or his source and it would feel like I was going to melt and die. I genuinely cannot be away from him for too long or my mental health will shit the bed. When I was with him, though, and when I filled every part of my senses with only him, his face, his voice, the way he holds me even if the feeling is blunted by the fact that he's just another part of our brain, it was always the happiest I'd ever feel. I can't have that anymore.

I really can't describe the mood swings and the physical pain that I've experienced as a result of this without feeling like people will think I am exaggerating. Like. psychology wasn't lying that borderline personality traits can really borderline. It feels like I'm losing half of what made me myself. I felt while crying over this multiple times that without him I'd die and that I need him to live. For two years, my entire identity and reason for existing was him.

I don't know where to go from here. I haven't even talked about how this is affecting my boyfriend. Before I felt like I had a good grasp on what I was going to be doing in the next minutes or hours or even days but now I can't even imagine what ten seconds will be.

My entire brain is constantly screaming for him to come back, but I can't indulge in anything that doesn't support the guy because every time I see his face or hear his voice now my brain screams that he is repulsive.

The worst part is that over the last two years I have become so conditioned to never ever be angry at my boyfriend that I cannot feel any rage over this. In any normal circumstance I'd feel angry that someone had been hurt and their abuser had been allowed to escape the consequences for so long, but I can't. I can only feel like I need him, but I can't have him because he's tainted. I am so disgusted but I can't handle seeing anyone angry at him because I still love him and I still want him to be happy.

I feel really gross knowing that I've dedicated so much of my love to someone so terrible. I know my boyfriend feels like his skin has been tainted and I am struggling now to look at his face and focus on him in headspace because it's now all painted in a negative life. It's so awful because he has always loved being himself and has always felt so connected to his source, even as the time passed.

Part 3: so what's the point

I've spent most of this time feeling completely alone. I don't know anyone personally who could possibly feel the same way that I do.

I guess I just want anyone who reads this, who feels alone like I do, or feels like they're not reacting in the "right" way to understand that it's okay. You aren't alone. No matter how isolated you feel or like your problems are entirely unique to you, there is someone out there who understands. And also there's a very slim chance that you'll ever be more cringe than me.

The grieving process is ugly and it is agonizing. If anyone wants to DM me on this blog or another, to share anything they're thinking, like really anything at all there's a lot I didn't cover on this post, I will listen.

And to any introjects, I love you. We can make it through. We have survived so much worse. You don't have to be anybody but yourself. And be careful out there. If you become so mixed up in someone's source like we did, please plan an out. Don't make the same mistake I did and just assume it would all be fine forever. There's a very real chance it doesn't.

[endawn]

reading a sort of dnd masterlist on the vampire lore section makes me sad because of these excerpts:

Are vampires evil? As a rule, yes. Gleefully so. Vampirism, the condition, is inherently evil/harmful. Vampires as individuals may be more complicated, as they are still people with their own personalities, and vampirism can affect them atypically or with varying levels of severity. There are exceptions to norms and rules…except for the rule that vampirism is a curse and it does corrupt one's emotions and values, twisting them to be monstrous parodies, inversions or extremes of the original quality to at least some degree.

Even when they want to be good people, vampires are flat out described as typically being "innately selfish" which "makes a good alignment difficult to uphold." Vampirism also instils sadism and violent tendencies - vampires enjoy violence and hurting people and when they experience rage the sensation is made more powerful.

However, a vampire can resist this corruption. There is at least of a fragment of the mortal they were in a vampire, the "part of it that is still mortal [and] yearns tenaciously for the things it had in life," even as the parts of them consumed by vampirism scorns those impulses. If their will to do so or their attachment to a specific part of their identity is strong enough then individual vampires can retain/maintain some part/s of their mortal self intact and untainted by the curse.

It is unfortunately far easier for vampires to backslide than to move forward, and there is no escape from the constant instinctual drive to become evil for as long as a person remains a vampire, but it can be done.

5e says they do have a soul, but it's corrupted in the manner already discussed. In the Baldur's Gate series? Yes, they do. Aside from the whole 7000 souls thing, back in BG2 there's a vampire you kill whose soul is in agony and lingers to beg you to kill him and thanks you when you do for freeing him from undeath. In BG3 you may read Caz..ador's subconscious thoughts- as he mourns his mortal life, "the monster that will not end" and wishes to die. The soul is still there in the background, but it really wishes it wasn't.

Young vampires often turn their loved ones in order to avoid losing them to age, disease and death. This obviously backfires, as the loved ones can only stay with them as slaves or enemies.

One day, inevitably, the stress and misery of eternal unlife gets too much. Depression is a given. Paranoia is also incredibly common. Whatever coping mechanisms the vampire has steadily spiral out of control. If the vampire's choice happens to be violence and hedonism, then they rapidly devolve into an utter monstrosity. Often the vampire's struggles become increasingly obvious until they're killed either by hunters or another vampire. Suicides also occur.

[theobaileypp-archived]

THEO ANDREAS BAILEY

35. ACADEMIC TRANSLATOR.

thick and unruly hair, chewing mints, coffee and energy drinks beat water any day, unsolicited advices, secretly geek but proudly Greek, unreadable handwriting, crying over the library of Alexandria when drunk―just generally crying when drunk. Cursing medieval monks in the middle of the night, the sound of metal crutches on the floor, self deprecating jokes with a bittersweet layer of truth, poetry with shirts buttoned the wrong way― shirts unbuttoned all the way. Romantic with a capital R.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

(cw: adoption, premature birth, disability, panic attacks, seizures)

TLDR;

Born in Greece to unknown (and supposedly deceased) parents and raised at an orphanage.

Has cerebral palsy due to prematurity, affecting his legs. Uses mobility aids such as forearm crutches to walk and also a wheelchair.

Adopted by the incredible academic and adventurous couple Dr. Jasmine and Richard Bailey at age 6, has lived all over the world growing up, especially between Egypt, England and Brazil.

Attended Cambridge University and led a very bohemian, lewd life. Drank a bunch. Made a lot of mistakes. Disappointed his parents and never reached his full potential.

A prodigious polyglot from infancy, has made translation his entire career.

Had a long term girlfriend who said no to his proposal, causing him to leave London to Providence Peak, where his family is currently residing. He's been in PP for about two years now.

Has recently found out that his mother is actually alive and well living as a nun in Greece.

Is having surprise twins out of wedlock! woohoo (due Jan/'24)

PERSONALITY

"Mansplain, manipulate & manwhore." Dramatic and tragic, exaggerated and excessive, passionate, caring, sensitive, charming and eloquent, daydreamer and a visionary, procrastinator, chaotic, internally insecure yet externally confident, impulsive and genuine, self-deprecating and self-critical, troubled

INSPO.

Lord Byron . Percy Shelley . Cyrano de Bergerac (Cyrano) . Randall Pearson (This is Us) . Matt Murdock (Daredevil) . Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) . Dmitri Karamazov (The Karamazov Brothers)

DETAILS;

Theo Andreas Bailey was born prematurely in Greece and grew up at an orphanage in Athens. Due to his early birth and lack of proper medical care, he has cerebral palsy, affecting mostly his lower limbs and making him dependent on mobility aids, mainly forearm crutches and orthosis, but also a wheelchair.

He was adopted at age six by the Baileys, this insanely academically accomplished couple, who took him to England and would later adopt a baby (Aslihan). He struggles a little with his adoption --- he thought of himself a little like damaged goods, too old and too much trouble with his medical history, so he felt like he had to prove his worth. He kept putting pressure on himself to do better, always.

He was super skilled and insanely smart from an early age, picking up easily on multiple languages, but it backfired. The pressure built itself to the point where he started having panic attacks and seizures, which he (stupidly) tried to hide, again, not wanting to cause any trouble to his loving family.

Once he was a student in Cambridge, things changed drastically. Instead of chasing achievements, now he would drink too much, party too hard and neglect his studies. He was wasting his potential, everyone knew it --- he knew it. He did get a Masters and a PhD, though, in anthropological linguistics, because that’s what Baileys do.

Contrary to his family, he barely uses his degrees and expertise. He works as an academic translator and lives an essentially empty life, hopping countries, drinking too much and not caring about a lot. He says it’s the ideal life and yet, deep down, he does that out of fear that by having a real job, in real academia, he would be bringing back his old habits and that way triggering his seizures and panic attacks.

He came to Providence Peak after his sister and parents did. He’d been recently dumped by a long term girlfriend and is a little broken-hearted still. He had a mid-thirties crisis back in London when he looked at his life and saw nothing of substance there.

Recently found out that his birth mom is alive and a nun back in Greece, which shook him up a bit

Got Dylan Westwick, his good friend, pregnant with twins due in January 2024. They're having a baby boy and girl. Their relationship status is still very confusing, they're still trying to figure it out.

FULL BIOGRAPHY

[jinxed-thylacine]

I didn't realize how much people fundamentally misunderstand Eggman and Sonic both as characters and as a pair until now tbh.

No, Phantom Rider Sonic is not out of character for Sonic nor for Eggman. Let's look at right before Sonic accepted the Eggstreme Gear.

Going undercover is implied to be incredibly beneficial to Sonic, Tails, and Amy's plan, something Eggman agrees with:

Eggman took a sabbatical after Eggperial City was destroyed, then came across Orbot and Cubot watching the Clean Sweepstakes opening ceremony, and didn't like that he was being mocked:

He was at least happy to see Sonic and the Babylon Rogues squabble, but then Sonic got disqualified (which Eggman claims he hated because humiliating Sonic is his job), which gave Eggman an idea:

Since Sonic was indirectly responsible for Eggman's inspiration coming back, he felt like repaying him in some way:

And throughout the arc, Eggman is shown to have been honest about this (unless something happens in issue 74/issue 75). This scene from issue 69 sets up mutual benefit; Sonic can more easily create a diversion because he's disguised, Tails and Amy can more easily sneak onto the shuttle, and Eggman repays Sonic for getting him his creative drive back and also gets to watch the chaos that unfolds as Sonic disrupts the event as the Phantom Rider, which he wanted to do before Sonic, Tails, and Amy were disqualified (and Eggman gets to watch the event that mocked him get disrupted).

Sonic causing trouble on purpose for the benefit of the greater good isn't out of character, he just isn't usually so chaotic about it, nor that intentioned about causing chaos, because what he's doing doesn't require a chaotic course of action. He does it in Sonic Adventure 2 to some degree (this is made most clear, in my opinion, in the recaps before each level) and he literally tells Merlina in Sonic and the Black Knight "Guess I can't be the hero every time!" after being told "If you remove that sword and defeat King Arthur with it, you shall forever be the worst of knights, slayer of kings!" and proceeds to fight the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. That's just in the games, if we factored other media into this there's a lot more I could cover.

Now, to be fair, that tends to not backfire on him as bad as it could. In Sonic X, when he's destroying Eggman's mirror towers, everyone eventually realizes that Sonic is doing it for the benefit of everyone else; he doesn't care about that though. In Sonic and the Black Knight, once Merlina admits she was essentially scamming Avalon, Lancelot, Percival, and Gawain team up with him to stop her. In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic's already a fugitive, so him causing some level of chaos to clear his name isn't something that really affects public perception of him.

In the comics, specifically the Phantom Rider arc, it does backfire on him once he's revealed to be the Phantom Rider, and there's some indication in issue 76's solicitation that there are going to be long-term effects in regards to Sonic being the Phantom Rider, meaning this would be the first time Sonic feels long-term effects for playing the villain (I'm actually surprised it took this long but whatever lol). The aftershocks might not be as bad once Clean Sweep is revealed to be untrustworthy, but there are still likely going to be some trust issues within Sonic's friend circle, which will be the worst ramifications we've seen from Sonic's chaotic good antics thus far.

Sonic is not against working with Eggman if there's a level of mutual benefit in it, and usually it happens because of some potentially world-ending catastrophe (Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic X, Sonic Heroes, Sonic 06, Sonic Frontiers). I actually think Jimbotnik sums this up best; "If I can't rule the world, I might as well save it!" However, Eggman is not above teaming up with Sonic if, from his perspective, the need arises, even if the world isn't about to end. If there's even a shred of mutual benefit, they are willing to work together. The Phantom Rider arc just has an example of them teaming up for, on Eggman's end, petty reasons.

Eggman's not above teaming up with Sonic if there's mutual benefit and Sonic's not above playing a villain for the benefit of the greater good. Phantom Rider arc is not out of character for either of them.

[russiaukrainevladimirputin]

Peace And Russia Ukraine Vladimir Putin Nuclear

There is goal proof that the Russian Empire was witnessing an energetic process russia ukraine vladimir putin nuclear of development of the Malorussian cultural id inside the larger Russian nation, which united the Velikorussians, the Malorussians and the Belorussians.

Bennett’s authorities, an ideologically diverse union that sent present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a quick political exile, collapsed in the summer over infighting. Meanwhile, preventing intensified Sunday within the eastern Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the non-public Russian army company about putin russia ukraine conflict, the Wagner Group, mentioned in a statement posted on Telegram.

Finally, the council would make certain that struggle criminals and senior officials from Putin’s regime have been held accountable.

Israel’s leaders nearly reflexively define the nation and putin russia ukraine news as each democratic and part of the West, but worldview matters.

The different clarification is that there’s an inner dynamic happening.

Other nations, most prominently the Baltic states, but also other USSR successor republics, may have every cause to assume they're next.

Standard Digital contains entry to a wealth of world news, evaluation and expert opinion.

Having already been suspended indefinitely from the G-8 in 2014, Russia is now a pariah in the G-20 and was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council following proof of warfare crimes in Ukraine in April 2022. Russian civil society has been under assault since 2012, when Putin reassumed the presidency. The value of public protest elevated following crackdowns after the huge anti-Putin protests of December 2011 and early 2012.

Construction Of Ukraine's Largest Modular Town For Refugees In Lviv

One medic was a former barista who had never had any medical training. Russian soldiers go into battle with little meals, few bullets and instructions grabbed from Wikipedia for weapons they barely know how to use. Russia has been pushing to take control of the whole Donbas region, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. Mykolaivka is southwest of the key settlements of Bakhmut and Kramatorsk. It comes as Russia claimed to have seized control of Mykolaivka, a small village within the Donetsk region. Fighting has been fierce within the area for months, and members of the third Separate Assault Brigade are seen making ready to defend their territory.

When prices climb above that degree, the upside flows into the Kremlin’s huge hard foreign money reserves (which presently total more than $620 billion) or its rainy day funds. The windfall allows the government to pay for a range of navy modernization applications and company and social welfare applications without breaking a sweat. All of that feel-good information blocks out much less pleased developments for the Kremlin just like the ravages of the pandemic. Biden at the Jan. 19 information conference where he mentioned he thought Russia would invade. (Emily Sabens/The Washington Post; Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post; iStock)Biden’s comments revealed the cracks in his own administration’s planning, in addition to in NATO.

What Does Putin Need With Ukraine And The Way Does He Plan To Get It? Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation

And in plenty of areas, electrical energy continues to be intermittent as Moscow's navy targets the ability grid. Rescuers in Kramatorsk, japanese Ukraine, search for survivors at a destroyed apartment constructing after a rocket attack that officers said killed a minimal of three people.

Democracies have stood up and brought incredibly sturdy and unprecedented steps, together with sanctions, navy aid, boycotts, and admitting refugees. The world has made clear that reckless, unprovoked invasions of a sovereign state will include tremendous prices and will backfire. This response will make other nations assume long and hard before taking on comparable imperial wars of conquest. However, his peacemaking efforts did not seem to take off and his time in power was short lived.

And there were many Ukrainian leaders there and Foreign Minister Lavrov, Sergey Lavrov — I mean, keep in mind in Russia most individuals simply don’t change positions.

But the actual fact is that the situation in Ukraine right now is totally completely different as a result of it includes a compelled change of identity.

The Israelis, in distinction, are scrupulously avoiding any insurance policies that will damage Jerusalem’s ties to Moscow.

The Balts, for instance, the Finns, having now needed to affix NATO, and the way they articulate why.

Instead, Haines warned Russia’s forces seem like focused on taking as a lot territory as they will within the Donbas area of jap Ukraine while consolidating control of territory it has taken in the south.

The southeastern front was carried out as two separate spearheads, from Crimea and the southeast against Luhansk and Donetsk. In March and April 2021, Russia began a serious navy build-up close to the Russo-Ukrainian border. A second build-up adopted from October 2021 to February 2022, in both Russia and Belarus.

Government Activity

To this ought to be added the persistent weak spot of state establishments and the position of a willing hostage to someone else's geopolitical will. When the USSR collapsed, many individuals in Russia and Ukraine sincerely believed and assumed that our close cultural, spiritual and financial ties will surely final, as would the commonality of our individuals, who had at all times had a sense of unity at their core. However, occasions – at first steadily, and then more rapidly – began to move in a special direction. Ukraine and Russia have developed as a single economic system over a long time and centuries.

The ministry mentioned Ukraine had struck the building in Makiivka utilizing missiles from a HIMARS rocket system and claimed that Russian forces had intercepted four of six rockets.

What we want to do is stand in solidarity with everyone and call it out.

Britain has accepted 146,379 refugees, in addition to extending the power to remain within the UK for 3 years with broadly similar entitlements as the EU, three years residency and access to state welfare and providers.

In May 2014, Russia-1 aired a story about Ukrainian atrocities utilizing footage of a 2012 Russian operation in North Caucasus.

The Washington Post reported that new U.S. weapons delivered to the Ukrainian war entrance counsel a closer fight state of affairs with more casualties.

For Putin, like many similar-minded people around him, the Soviet Union was a continuation of the Russian Empire in a special kind with a unique name.

But in reality, I additionally see Putin within the custom of Catherine the Great, whose portrait also adorns the Kremlin walls, as nicely as Peter’s. I have to increase my borders to maintain my people safe.” So, the thought of defensive expansionism is one thing that’s very much written into Russian historical past of the final few centuries. But he’s made it very clear throughout this battle, in fact, within the run up to this conflict, that that is all about his vision of what he sees to be the Russian world. And he wants to carry out, by method of invading and attacking Ukraine, actions that may convey the Russian lands as he sees them, back into the fold. For Putin, like many similar-minded folks around him, the Soviet Union was a continuation of the Russian Empire in a different form with a special name. It didn’t embrace all of the territory that had once belonged to the Russian Empire.

Russia-ukraine War Latest Updates: Putin Declares Annexation Of Ukrainian Land

After a botched try and quickly seize the Ukrainian capital, the Russian troops pulled back from areas round Kyiv in March. The Kremlin has muzzled any criticism of its invasion of Ukraine from the liberal anti-war camp, shutting impartial media retailers and criminalizing the spread of any data that differs from the official view — together with calling the campaign a struggle. But it has faced an more and more vocal criticism from Russian hardliners, who've denounced the president as weak and indecisive and called for ramping up strikes on Ukraine. “Kremlin officials are virtually certainly extraordinarily delicate concerning the possibility that any event attended by Putin could presumably be hijacked by unsanctioned discussion about the ‘special army operation,’” it stated, using Moscow’s time period for the struggle. But his peacemaking efforts didn't appear to take off and his time in energy was short-lived.

Eduard Lobau was killed in fierce artillery battles in Vuhledar in opposition to Russian troops as part of a small but dynamic regiment of Belarusian dissidents combating alongside the Ukrainian armed forces.

Industrial clients are being requested to minimize back the quantity of pure fuel they use, and Germany and different international locations are turning back to coal as a replacement, threatening local weather targets in Europe as power tensions escalate between Russia and the West.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq, there were months and months of preparation.

“Back in 2014,” Piodi recollects, “Twitter customers will remember that there was little communication on social media.” In those days, Ukrainian leadership relied on a slow, conventional process to speak with the European public.

It makes Russian diplomats and propagandists look ludicrous, and the extra outraged their response, the extra ludicrous they seem.

In July 2021, Putin published an essay titled "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians", reaffirming that Russians and Ukrainians were "one individuals". President Vladimir Putin provided Russian help on Monday to Syria and Turkey after a significant earthquake of magnitude 7.8 killed more than 500 individuals and injured hundreds in the two nations. The revelations show how the Kremlin is circumnavigating Western sanctions so as to replenish its battle-stricken armed forces.

North Korea Slams Us Over Determination To Send Tanks To Ukraine

More than $135 million of a long-dormant U.S. government fund that was established to invest in Russia’s personal sector will be distributed to help the economies of Ukraine and its neighbor, Moldova, recuperate from Russia’s struggle, the us One of President Vladimir V. Putin’s most prominent critics, Mr. Navalny has been jailed since he returned to Russia in 2021, after recovering in Germany from an assassination attempt that Western officials say was carried out by the Kremlin. Mr. Lavrov said, with out proof, that President Maia Sandu of Moldova, who is pro-NATO and pro-European Union, was “appointed” by Western states, and accused her of being ready to do “practically anything” to steer her country away from Moscow. Mr. Lavrov’s feedback prompted a swift reaction from Moldovan officers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has difficult Moldova’s decades-long efforts to untangle itself from Moscow’s sphere of affect. Moscow controls practically all of Moldova’s vitality provide, and the Moldovan authorities is especially nervous about Transnistria, a thin sliver of territory that's managed by separatists and Russian troops.

Over the past week, Russia has made "small advances in its try and encircle" the essential Donbas city of Bakhmut, the British Defense Ministry stated in its latest assessment of the war.

On three April, following the retreat of Russian forces from Kyiv, Russia expanded its assault on Southern Ukraine additional west, with bombardment and strikes against Odesa, Mykolaiv, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"Russian forces unblock water move for canal to annexed Crimea, Moscow says".

On 15 March 1918, the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party immediately ordered that delegates be sent to the Ukrainian Congress of Soviets, together with from the Donetsk Basin, and that ”one authorities for all of Ukraine“ be created at the congress. The territories of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic later fashioned a lot of the areas of south-eastern Ukraine. We do know there were the Valuev Circular of 1863 an then the Ems Ukaz of 1876, which restricted the publication and importation of non secular and socio-political literature within the Ukrainian language.

Putins Quagmire: Russias Invasion Of Ukraine Is A Strategic Disaster For The Kremlin

Energoatom mentioned the mills had been later switched off as primary energy was restored. Russian President Vladimir Putin miscalculated the problem of a swift takeover of Ukraine and is now compelled to mobilize more Russian troopers, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Biden excoriated the "brutal, useless struggle chosen by one man" as a violation of the UN's charter, in addition to the "sham referenda" Russia has deliberate for later within the week to consolidate authority over territories in Ukraine it controls. "They talk concerning the talks however announce military mobilization. They discuss concerning the talks however announce pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine," he stated. “We are ready to negotiate with everybody concerned about acceptable solutions, but that is as much as them – we are not the ones refusing to barter, they're,” Putin advised Rossiya 1 state television in an interview aired on Sunday. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most deadly battle in Europe since World War Two and the largest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

It can be mistaken each morally and strategically to force Ukrainians to make concessions whereas Putin is holding a gun to their heads. It would damage U.S. credibility, weaken President Joe Biden politically and diplomatically and harm U.S.-Ukrainian relations, in addition to America’s standing with different allies. Perhaps most problematically — opposite to what Charap suggests — handing Putin this sort of concession would reward his conduct and encourage extra of it. If the united states is to ask any country for concessions, it should push Russia — the invading and occupying power — to withdraw from Ukrainian territory, not ask Ukraine, the sufferer, to provide in. In 2004, Putin’s Kremlin inserted itself into Ukraine’s electoral politics by overtly supporting Yanukovych, outgoing president Kuchma’s handpicked successor.

Putin And Syria (2015 To Present)

Once the invasion began, Russia squandered its dominance over Ukraine via a parade of blunders. It relied on old maps and dangerous intelligence to fireside its missiles, leaving Ukrainian air defenses surprisingly intact, able to defend the nation. Russia’s vaunted hacking squads tried, and failed, to win in what some officials name the primary massive test of cyberweapons in actual warfare. Russian troopers, many shocked they had been going to war, used their cellphones to call residence, allowing the Ukrainians to track them and pick them off in giant numbers.

The comparatively static conflict was labelled a "frozen" by some, but Russia never achieved this as the combating never stopped. The area remained a war zone, with dozens of soldiers and civilians killed each month. Between 2014 and 2022 the beginning of the conflict there have been 29 ceasefires, each supposed to stay in force indefinitely. However, none of them lasted more than two weeks, and more people had been killed within the years of static combat than in 2014–15. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine and Russia maintained close ties.

How To Avoid The Ukraine Warfare Going Nuclear

The choice to go to warfare was Putin’s; dropping could additionally be existential for him, nevertheless it need not be for others in Moscow. So far, they have no proof that he's transferring nuclear weapons toward the battlefield, though they note that with a few of his tactical weapons — small battlefield arms, together with some that may fit into an artillery shell — they might not see such motion. But the officers expect that if Mr. Putin wants to raise the level of alarm, he'll make a public show of transferring weapons or make certain Western allies choose up chatter among the many models that management those weapons. At a speech in Washington on Thursday, William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, mentioned the United States needed to take critically the nuclear “saber rattling” of Mr. Putin and his advisers. Mr. Burns added that he had made clear to Russian officials the intense penalties of any use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The environmental results of tactical nuclear weapons use are difficult to calculate and would depend upon warhead yield, detonation height, climate, and native geography.

We decreased NATO nonstrategic nuclear forces by an infinite quantity at the finish of the Cold War.

Detonation in sparsely-populated areas — carried out perhaps with the goal of warning that worse could be coming — would do less harm.

"Increase the manufacture of weapons and ammunition in Europe to be all the time able to defend our frequent space."

Russia has 5,977 nuclear warheads while the United States has 5,428, China 350, France 290 and the United Kingdom 225, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Human rights violations are a daily function of most of the camps, based on the us

The bad information is that the navy situation could deteriorate very quickly for the Kremlin, after which Putin, caught off guard by a collection of setbacks from the entrance lines, may act impulsively. Worse, if a nuclear crisis should come up, the possibilities of successful diplomacy are slim. Putin does not seem to have deserted his maximalist ambitions of subjugating Ukraine, and is probably going to use any cease-fire the Kremlin would comply with as an opportunity to rebuild the Russian military machine and return to combat. Second, he hopes to dissuade Ukraine from persevering with its counteroffensive and the West from supporting Kyiv.

High Ukrainian Common Discusses War In Opposition To Russia, Putin's Nuclear Threat: Unique

Russia would be cautious not to detonate weapons too near its own troopers or occupied territory. Nuclear weapons will be unable to repair Putin’s navy failures or stop Russia from dropping the struggle. Instead, crossing the nuclear threshold would probably lead to crushing international consequences and probably even the end of the Putin regime. This may not be sufficient to prevent the Russian dictator from attempting to frighten Western leaders by threatening a nuclear response to the liberation of Crimea. Ukraine and the country’s partners must make clear that they will not be intimidated by such techniques.

Moreover, the optics of negotiating an arms control deal while the conflict rages on could presumably be negative sufficient that home and worldwide political strain precludes the negotiation of a deal. The arguments that Putin won’t use nuclear weapons as a outcome of doing so would endanger Russians, together with himself, are blind to the truth that Putin believes he has the best, probably the moral obligation, to sacrifice hundreds of 1000's or millions of people. The argument that a nuclear strike wouldn’t help Putin obtain his strategic goals errors Russia’s strategic targets as anything but inflicting terror on Ukrainians.

Russia-ukraine Struggle News Highlights: Peace Talks With Ukraine Are At Useless Finish, Says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow's navy operation in Ukraine would undoubtedly achieve what he mentioned had been its "noble" aims. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that what was taking place in Ukraine was a tragedy however that Russia had no choice however to launch a special army operation, Russian information companies reported. The mayor of the Ukrainian metropolis of Mariupol said on Tuesday the latest estimate was that about 21,000 civilian residents of the port metropolis had been killed for the rationale that start of Russia's invasion. In televised comments, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko stated it had been troublesome to calculate the precise variety of casualties since avenue combating had started. President Vladimir Putin stated on Tuesday peace talks with Ukraine had hit a useless finish, utilizing his first public comments on the battle in additional than a week to vow that his troops would win and to goad the West for failing to deliver Moscow to heel.

Officials in Kyiv are warning that the Kremlin has gathered a big drive able to attack in the coming weeks, probably to coincide with the Feb. 24 anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

At the identical time, he’s played an important half in supporting Ukraine by offering Starlink web methods to Ukraine, and saved telecommunications going in Ukraine, paid for partly by the united states authorities.

It is what I even have said on quite a few events and what I firmly believe.

Most refugees have been ladies, children, the aged, or folks with disabilities.

Meanwhile, preventing intensified Sunday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the personal Russian army company, the Wagner Group, said in an announcement posted on Telegram. Rescuers in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, search for survivors at a destroyed apartment building after a rocket assault that officers stated killed no less than three individuals. Stalingrad holds totemic significance for Russians as a logo of wartime struggling, sacrifice and heroism. In 1942 and 1943, the Soviets reversed the tide of Germany’s invasion in a 200-day battle there that price hundreds of hundreds of troopers and civilians their lives.

About Reuters

On 22 October France, Britain and Germany formally known as for an investigation by the UN team answerable for UNSCR 2231. On 1 November, CNN reported that Iran was preparing to ship ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. On 21 November, CNN reported that an intelligence assessment had concluded that Iran planned to assist Russia start manufacturing of Iran-designed drones in Russia. By 20 January 2023, both the Russian defence ministry and Wagner forces claimed to have captured Klishchiivka, a village positioned 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) southwest of Bakhmut in Donetsk, although Reuters couldn't independently verify the claims on the time. On 1 February, The New York Times reported that Russians had elevated the intensification of the attacks on Bakhmut and its surrounding areas. On sixteen May, the Ukrainian General employees announced that the Mariupol garrison had "fulfilled its fight mission" and that final evacuations from the Azovstal metal manufacturing unit had begun.

Mr Putin was in Volgograd to mark the anniversary of the top of World War Two's Battle of Stalingrad, which noticed the Soviet military capture practically ninety one,000 German troops in a major turning level of the war.

After Zelenskyy got his tanks, he is now asking for F-16 fighter jets, one thing the president has so far denied.

His profile is way greater than that of Rishi Sunak, who is comparatively unknown exterior of the DC Beltway.

The metropolis has already been laid waste by weeks of Russian bombardments that have killed probably thousands of civilians. Civilians had been fleeing from areas of japanese Ukraine on Tuesday ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive, whereas Kyiv stated it was checking reviews that Russian forces had used chemical weapons within the besieged port metropolis of Mariupol. Russia has sufficient funds to service its debt in time and to redeem all its debt obligations, the finance ministry stated on Tuesday. President Joe Biden mentioned boosting army and financial assist to Ukraine on Tuesday in addition to the want to end Western reliance on Russian oil and gasoline, a spokeswoman for Johnson's office mentioned. "The leaders mentioned the necessity to accelerate help to Ukraine, together with bolstering military and economic assist, as the Ukrainian forces put together for one more Russian onslaught within the east of the country," a Downing Street spokeswoman stated." You’re going to begin listening to increasingly stories of people who’ve gone to the front completely unprepared and obtained killed.

Vladimir Putin May Be 'richest Man Alive', However It's All A Giant Mystery A Sneak Peek Into Russian Prez's Life Folks News

Some of the attendees said that they'd been paid to come back, were compelled to come by their employers, or have been misled into believing that they were going to attend a folks pageant as an alternative. On 12 September 2007, Putin dissolved the federal government upon the request of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Fradkov commented that it was to offer the President a "free hand" in the run-up to the parliamentary election.

"I ran out to the balcony, flames have been capturing upward, I clambered over the railing, grabbing the sheets, and began to decrease myself down," Mr Putin recalled in an interview included in a guide about his life.

Combined with the sanctions already in place in the us and U.K., the latest spherical of targeted penalties counsel governments may be viewing Russia’s wealthy elite as one other key stress level as Putin continues his invasion of Ukraine.

That criticism was largely as a result of it took a number of days for Putin to return from trip, and a quantity of other more before he visited the scene.

In 1995, he managed the legislative election marketing campaign for that get together, and from 1995 via June 1997, he was the leader of its Saint Petersburg department.

He has fallen from being the fourth richest individual on the planet to the fifteenth. Elon Musk ran away with the crown in November when his web price briefly hit an all-time excessive of $340 billion. That was enough to make him the richest particular person in fashionable history, slightly eclipsing the inflation-adjusted net worth of John D. Rockefeller. At that point Jeff Bezos was safely in Elon's rear-view mirror with a web price of around $220 billion. On the opposite hand… Many political analysts have claimed that Putin's true monetary image is way bigger.

Vladimir Putin's Web Value Is Estimated Conservatively At $70 Billion

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., mentioned the sanctions amounted to too little, too late, to curb Putin’s aggressive moves. Many are calling for more durable sanctions aimed instantly at Putin and his inner circle, which raises questions about just how rich the Russian president is, and the place the majority of that wealth is spread around the world. One concept relates to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian oligarch who has once believed to be the richest individual within the country with a internet worth of around $15 billion. Following Boris Johnson's announcement of sanctions on Russia, Putin's huge private wealth has come into query. Forbes Magazine, which places together an annual list of the world's richest individuals, says Vladimir Putin's worth is impossible to pinpoint. By Friday, the European Union appeared to be zeroing in on Putin, agreeing to freeze the property of the Russian President and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in accordance with Latvia's international minister.

It moved a few of its defenses — like Buk and S-300 missile launchers, together with its major radio intelligence command and management coronary heart — to new web sites sooner than the warfare started, senior Ukrainian officers stated.

As he was constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms as president on the time, Putin served as prime minister again from 2008 to 2012 underneath Dmitry Medvedev.

Some countries could wish to spare Putin from private sanctions to preserve the possibility of a diplomatic answer.

His first 12 months the office was characterised by a largely profitable effort to stifle the protest movement.

And once they have been trading places, it is sometimes been within the $230 to $250 billion vary.

It is little question that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is considered to be one of the leaders in the world who's of appreciable wealth. The current confusion on Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia however not Putin himself raised extra doubts. For years, Russia's internal circle has drawn to Monaco, the place the coastal metropolis has been a favorite for the prosperous because of its low tax rules and practices.

[kadi-sann]

Hiyori is afraid of losing control over events rather than literal death

Last time I was screaming about Hiyori for longer was when I was mad at his “weakness” namely it being his fear of death that to me personally (and I assume for many others as well) doesn’t make much sense. If anyone is interested, you can read it here.

I was so mad and dissapointed that I decided to dwell on it further and overthink about the reason why it can be truth on some, even if smallest ground. Is there any deeper hidden meaning behind this fear?? And then I came to certain conclusion that may make sense to Hiyori’s character.

Just like in the title, personally I think it's a fear of losing control rather than literal death. Like think about it. With Asunaro’s power and influence, Hiyori can slip away with almost everything without any consequences. Because he’s part of the organization he can literally control ANYTHING he wants. Take out prisoners from prison, cover up his own murders, setting someone up for crimes they didn’t really commit, etc.

Any wish he has is granted on his whim just because he's part of Asunaro, organization with HUGE impact on the world and which is incredibly popular - since they have so much money, they have to be - and they also have many shady connections in an underworld that nobody knows about.

Hiyori is always a control freak - in conversations, events, heck even memories of people he has met in the past since he's probably the one who erases them in the first place. He can delete their memories that seem inconvenient for him: like stuff about consent form or about the wishes participants made and forgot about for some reason.

If you pay attention to his behavior, sometimes you can see how in certain moments he “fights”over control even during something simple like conversations.

For example when he tried to make Sara unconfrontable with a joke while hoping to get under her skin: when she wanted to tease him back he immadietly turns serious as to keep his control over this little exchange of words they’re having and to have an upper hand whenever and wherever he wants.

Here's the conversation I’m refering to:

The moment you'll choose it Midori's smile drops out of nowhere, he's no longer mocking you and he's suddenly serious (for once) scolding you: "We're having serious conversation here, miss Sara."

I like to think he wants to stay in control that way and so he makes Sara confused to make her less guarded. He wanted to tease her and get under her skin but in the end his teasing backfired instead. So instead of giving up his upper hand in the situation he decided to confuse her with his changed behavior as a punishment to show her he’s still the one in charge here.

When you don't listen to him (in Ranmaru collar mini game) and want your electrified body be reset because it’s “unfair” he punishes you for disobaying him by doing the complete opposite of what you wanted - he zaps everyone instead. Once again the moment Sara thought she can make rules Midori takes it away from her and turns the tables to his own favor.

I saw someone mention that he made himself a doll so he can stay immortal. In out of fear of death which would make sense to some degree. He wouldn't get sick, he wouldn't feel pain, if you chop his head, he'd still  be alive (as we saw on Nankidai’s sketches.) Even when cutting your own head off is near death experiance it's still HIS choice, HE would decide he wanted to go that way before it happens out of nowhere to make his situation better. He's still his own compas that chooses what to do and when.

Midori is like a cat: he doesn't like being told what to do and goes by his command, his own will and sick desires. Even Shin describes him in similar way.

The only people who can have some impact on what he's doing and keep him on a leash in some way are people from Asunaro since their connections is simply convienient to him. Since as I said he can get away with almost anything because of his ties to them.

Conclusion: In my mind Midori is terryfied of possibility where he has to lose control. Death is something nothing in the world can stop. You can't revive people. Even when you make your doll ver it's still jusy a copy. So it's better to make a doll from your own human body untill your original consciousnes is still there. He won't stop death no matter how much power or influence his organization has and that’s probably what scares him so much. It’s a sudden loss of so much power in one second when he’s vulnerable just like his many victims he tormented in the past.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Hey do you know a possible explanation for Silvio's aversion to touch when it comes to women (who initiate it) ?

This may be because of a past trauma. It might have been that he was never touched, as a child, by his Mother or other female caregivers.

I think now it's pretty obvious that his mother heavily neglected him because she favoured her (eldest?) son Emilio, and also his father didn't give a damn about him by what it looks like; moreover, seeing how good Rio's mother was to him made Silvio jealous of that affection and even more lonely imo. This created both a desire for that touch because of what he saw with Rio's mother, and an aversion to it because he simply didn't know how to handle it/ wasn't used to it. Between the desire and the aversion is a great deal of tension, stress, fear and many uncomfortable feelings in general.

After reading his birthday story, i don't think that he feels just embarrassment when he gets touched by women (Emma in this case). Maybe I read it all wrong or I'm digging too much into it, but he was quite displeased imo, it wasn't a good sensation for him. He gets flustered, but also incredibly uncomfortable when he's not the one who initiates physical interaction with women (i still can't quite explain this behavior though, is he a control freak now? Godddd pls give us an interesting psychological explanation and not just "he's a very shy man uwu", i want DRAMA and TRAUMA and ANGST!!!)

Anyway, sorry for my rant and for my English, it's not my native language

Heya Nonny, first off your English is great don't be self conscious! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts 😊

As for my theories or musings on the whole touch thing, post birthday story, I'll ramble under a cut.

As of right now I don't know a concrete reason for why Silvio loathes being touched by women so much. I wonder if it might be a combination of what you suggested, a lack of warmth from his parental figures, and perhaps of the fact that from what little we've gathered about his interactions with women prior to Emma it's all been about gold-digging. Disingenuous women who only seem interested in his money - or at least that's what SILVIO thinks.

Silvio is the eldest of the three sons, which both sort of stings that he's the most neglected and makes a terrible sort of sense - the eldest is often expected to get by and manage things on their own, to be more independent and have their accomplishments be 'expected'. But that can backfire and leave them feeling neglected and passed over as well...and that's in a functional family.

I don't think it's reading it wrong to think after his POV that his feelings surrounding being touched by women are very complex and not simply being shy. There is some degree of that, in how he blushes and blames his pounding heart on his anxiety (which it wasn't really). I think there is a genuine desire to be closer to Emma, but there's genuine distress as well - in JP he uses the terms 気持ち悪い and 嫌悪感 to describe his feelings, and those are not happy words. They indicate real discomfort and revulsion, an almost physical NOPE reaction that he has to struggle to ride out. Even in the AU story he flat out says he's not really slept with women but he's willing to (try) because it's her.

As to what is the source of this, I guess we'll find out. It definitely seems like it could be some sort of deep-seated trauma...could Cybird pull an interesting switch and have Silvio be the victim of sexual assault? Not that it's ever a good trope to rely on, but it's rare that the concept of male victims are ever explored or given the attention they deserve. If so, I hope they manage to do so respectfully.

[number5theboy]

@non-plutonian-druid said: "#anyway show five deserves this monologue because when he specifically would give it it would get an additional layer of meaning#absent in the original comic " 👀👀👀i am begging you to elaborate i desperately want to read this essay 

Okay, so why the gazelle monologue would have an additional layer of nuance if performed by Five in the show in my eyes definitely is dependent on the way I interpret the original speech, so little detour into my interpretation of the original speech.

The original gazelle speech is a realisation speech. Five starts out wanting to brag to the nameless Commission henchmen he’s dispatching that he is better, more skilled, more dangerous than them. He likens them to tigers, tigers that possess every attribute of a tiger but lack a deeper understanding of their own place, that will never catch up to him. And at the end, he comes to the realisation that he is not like them. He’s a completely different species - he’s a gazelle, and he’s proud of it.

Which in itself is interesting, because a tiger is a predator and a gazelle is prey. And Five, in the comics, was literally engineered to be the perfect predator, so the fact that he identifies with the gazelle in the face of so many so-called tigers is a subtle reminder that he is a victim in all of this. The Temps Commission preyed on him when he was at his lowest (i.e. lost in the apocalyptic future, deprived of any other path), and took advantage of his vulnerability to turn him into a killer. Him setting himself apart as a gazelle, realising that he is made of other stuff than all other Commission agents, is such an interesting character moment.

And another thing is that the ultimate realisation, “I’m a gazelle and the jungle is my home!” is just. scientifically inaccurate. A gazelle is a steppe animal. There are no gazelles at home in the jungle. Which is a brilliant writing decision, because it highlights Five’s nature as someone permanently out of place, never belonging. He is out of place, and he made that place, in this case a vague-ish metaphor for the act of killing and his knowledge on it, his home. It’s like the exact opposite of impostor syndrome. Impostor pride maybe.He doesn’t belong and he is better, faster, cleverer than anyone who naturally belongs in this environment.

Just for completion’s sake, the whole riff on tigers and gazelle could also be a play on the following quote credited to Dan Montano, because it also prominently features the theme of running and gazelles, albeit with the more often associated predator of the lion: “ Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” More info here.

Which finally brings me to why it would fuck to the highest degree if the show version of Five also would get to do this speech. Because even though there are significant differences between show and comic version, the general beats of his story are similar enough for the above points to still be true to show Five, but show Five also has a very clear theme of running, made much clearer than in the comics. Five running is a defining feature of his character, as it is for a gazelle, and him calling himself a gazelle in the show would have this additional layer of nuance in that we have seen him running before, so this realisation would come less out of nowhere than it does in the comics.

But I also don’t trust the showrunners with comics stuff after what they did to Carmichael and his death scene by giving a very pivotal Five moment to their antisemitic concept of an OC and then referencing the unhinged Five from the comics through a weird invented “””psychosis””” as some kind of incredibly misguided and backfired fanservice. So I’d rather just think about how cool it would be to see this speech in the show rather than have to watch them play it for laughs or have Five be knocked out at the end of it, because this speech only works in a particular sort of framing and I don’t trust the show to do it justice.

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

uh, ml bnha au

Yep. Here we go folks. Uh I don’t know much I’ll expand on this but it’s here. The quirks that is. Uhm- here we go I guess? Thank you @ghostatjoes and @symphonic-scream and all y’all for the ideas and inspiration.

Adrien’s will be the only on the nose most obvious one. I wanna try and keep these powers from being just the miraculous powers. So this will be a mix of just original ideas and akuma stuff.

Adrien: “Cataclysm” pretty much it’s Shigaraki’s Decay but a little different. It’s this au’s version of One For All. The Destruction Hero, Plagg, passed this quirk down to him when Adrien proved that he had a good heart to be a hero cause Plagg needs a replacement due to an injury causing Cataclysm to slowly start to kill him. Adrien is aiming to save as many people as possible as a rescue hero. (His outfit has a cat motif in honor of Plagg who has a cat head due to an unrelated mutation like how Tokoyami has a bird head)

Marinette: “Growth” Marinette can amplify the life in a living object. Whether this means taking a small flower and turning it a building tall beanstalk or amplifying the healing of someone’s body. However she can only use this in short bursts or else she risks over growing her body causing chronic pains and possible plants growing from her arms. 

Nino: “Bubbles” Okay yeah so obviously Bubbler, but it’s a little cooler? Nino can entrap anything into these bubbles. Sounds, healing packs, explosions, balls of fire, light itself, all condensed into these bubbles ready to be yeeted across the battle field like bombs, med packs, or flash bombs. However they can be a little fragile so he’s working to make them more tough. The bubble solution he uses to make these bubbles are made of his unique sweat. Bakugo style. Don’t ask what it’s made of he isn’t sure either. At least it makes him smell nice.

Alya: “Signal” Not the most offensive quirk, but she can send a signal to every single person in a certain radius that she’s training to grow. Whether this is a message, an image she’s seeing(this can extend to just what she’s seeing in general), etc. She’s also training for this to extent to different signals in the air like WiFi signals so she can send them electrically as well. However she risks heavy migraines with overuse. To make up for her very situational quirk she’s working on upping her physical strength.

Chloe: “Venom/Honeycomb” With Venom she can temporarily paralyze a specific part of an opponent. It’s not as strong as her mother’s Venom or her Aunt/Mentor Pollen’s Venom as it’s a quirk she’s gotten from her family, but she’s working on making sure she’s the most exceptional in the entire class, and making sure no one hears of her other quirk. Honeycomb, which is actually her main quirk and not secondary, gives her the ability to produce a honey like substance that can harden into resin following her will. Chloe refuses to use it for it is unexceptional. She must be like her mother or else..

Sabrina: “Emotional Pulse” Sabrina draws energy from the emotions around her to give her a physical boost. It can go from a strengthened punch to something looking like Detroit Smash. However a draw back can be that the emotions around her can start literally affecting her and somewhat tilting how she may feel. So in an angry environment she herself might start to become angry as well. Hyper empathy basically. And it makes her a little anxious about her identity as an individual.

Nathaniel: “Ink” Nathaniel basically water bends ink into creations he can control, quite literally drawing his creations to life. His limit is how much ink he has. Like that one fuckin Mickey Mouse game.

Alix: “Clockwise” For, at most, thirty seconds, Alix’s speed is super enhanced to an incredible degree, practically breaking time itself. This also enhances her strength and mind, pretty much giving her the spiritual equivalent of that one scene with QuickSilver or that one scene from Over the Hedge. However she can’t go over thirty seconds right now or else her body, mind, and definitely internal organs will begin to face serious damage. To make sure she can track herself, she has a pocket watch that she always has handy to remind her how much time has actually passed.

Kim: “Icarus” Kim can create wings out of a waxy substance from his back that allows him the power of flight. One of the most straightforward power here honestly. Like Icarus however, these wings can melt and can be destroyed. Kim, however, has a small control over the wax which means he could potentially be able to use it for something else, however this requires patience and control, something he lacks. 

Max: “Locker” Pretty much, Max is able to set a “marker” on any enclosed space (of a arm reachable size, spanning from a literal locker or a luggage bag) and from anywhere in a 4 mile radius (that he can train to grow) Max is able to “reach into inside” and grab anything that’s inside there. However this space must exist, it’s not a pocket dimension, and so are the objects inside as well. This quirk is useful for holding emergency equipment or grabbing a quick weapon. However it has to be something he can actually hold and something he has already put in there, so he must calculate what would be useful so he can prioritize space and what he should bring with him. 

Ivan: “Minotaur” Gives him attributes akin to The Minotaur. Though his appearance is mostly human, it does become more and more beastly as his anger or need to use his power rises. 

Mylene: “Fear” Mylene gets a boost of power from the fear around her, which she has the ability to enhance to terrifying levels, leaving her victims in states of trauma and distress if she doesn’t control its degree. This quirk mutates her slightly to be akin in some way to the form of the person she’s using her quirk on’s fear. However she herself is easy to be scared so this backfires most of the time.

Juleka: “Vampire Bat” She can do anything a bat can do! Plus a bloody bonus. She has the power of echolocation which, if trained, can possibly knock down a small target. She doesn’t have wings but is working to incorporate some kind of glider into her hero design. As for that vampiric bonus, she has minor control over blood, able to bend it at will, however at this moment, the best she can do is make someone dizzy through a few edits with their blood stream.

Rose: “Perfume” Rose is able to admit a powerful perfume like gas which, upon inhaling, can reduce the victims into a drowsy state of mind. However she’s the only one immune to it so she must be extremely careful with how she uses it and who's around to possibly inhale it. A strange side effect from this quirk is that there’s a slight green tint to her blush.

Extras-

Luka: “Synesthesia” like the actual condition of synesthesia, he is able to visualize and conceptualize sound on different levels of understanding. With this, his hearing is incredibly sensitive and simply pressing an ear against the wall could help him develop an map of the entire building. He claims to hear the souls of others as well, which is supported by his ability to tell from illusion or reality just by his sense of hearing.

Kagami: “Storm” She has the entire essence of a storm wrapped up inside her. Though it may be confused with Class 1b’s Aurore Beaureal’s quirk “Weather” if you were to mistake those two, you would certainly get a lightning bolt to the stomach. Kagami’s quirk has been part of her family for generations, and as the up coming member of her hero family’s legacy, she is planning for no one to be in her way.

Marc: “Origami” Has complete control over paper and can manipulate them to become any creation they can think of, getting said creation’s attributes. So if Marc made a origami dog it might start barking and it’s teeth might become sharp enough to actually pierce skin, same if Marc made a paper sword. However the limitation is how much paper Marc actually has.

Lila: “Whistle” Lila can manipulate a person’s perception through the power of her whistle, causing possible hallucinations or problems in their sight. However it’s controlled by her whistle and it’s power so breathing exercises are important for her to do. To make things easier, she has taken up using the flute to better enhance her quirk. 

Maybe in a different post I’ll talk about the different pro heroes, vigilantes, and villains.

[missmorosis]

Terrible

Hi! Hello! 

Part of the inspo for this fic is here! Whump & fluff are my soft spots… I really loved this prompt by @whumpster-dumpster​ omg I was scrolling through your prompts and I LOVE THEM!! I’ll definitely have to do one or two more in the future!

Please please please send in requests through my asks!! I would LOVE to write more for y’all~

Pairing: uhhhh soo it can be Zuko x reader, buuut it’s pretty much Gaang x reader :) pairing can apply to everyone? idk

Warnings: Just some dizziness, sickness, fainting! Also please pretend that covid doesn’t exist here~

Word count: omg i wrote 2.5k words!

Summary: Y/N is very sick, but of course, she’s so stubborn that she still needs to help set up for Aang’s birthday party.

When Y/N woke up, she wasn’t sure what was wrong, but she felt out of it. She blindly reached out next to her, feeling for Zuko’s warm body, but he wasn’t there. He must be off at work at the Jasmine Dragon already or something…  

Y/N turned on her phone and groaned. 8:30 AM. She had to get up; she had promised Katara that she would help set up for Aang’s birthday, and she was supposed to meet her in one hour. Sighing, she kicked her blanket off and peeled her eyes open, slightly shivering from the cold. She squinted her eyes. Why was the sunlight so bright? Her eyelids felt heavy, and she wanted more than anything to pull the blanket back up and make herself comfortable once more. However, she scooted her body out of bed, forcing herself to get up. 

Her body didn’t approve. She groaned, rubbing her pounding temples with her hand. She stayed still, hoping for the headache to pass before she made any sharp movements. After a while, the throbbing ceased a bit, and Y/N deemed it safe to move. She checked the time. 8:42 AM. She cursed, getting clothes from her closet as fast as she could. Ignoring her headache, she made a quick mental checklist of the things she needed to do. 1. Take a shower. 2. Get dressed & get ready. 3. Pick up the cake from the bakery, and 4. Drive over to Katara’s and help her with anything else. She could do that in 48, now 47 minutes, right? 

She trudged through her room, through the hallway, heading towards the bathroom. She brought her clothes over, setting it down on the counter next to the sink. She paused, leaning on the bathroom door for just a second, feeling lightheaded. She sighed, closing her eyes. Why was it so hot all of a sudden? Why was the room spinning…? That never happened before… Where was this sickness coming from? Her knees sank into the ground. No. She promised to help Katara. She lifted herself up with difficulty, using the edge of the sink as support. She staggered, but eventually, she pulled herself up.

Maybe a shower would make her feel better? She pulled her clothes off and got into the shower. The warm water ran against the skin, flowing through her hair.  She was going to be fine. She needed to help Katara! She didn’t want Katara to set up the party all by herself. 

Ahh, yes, this was making her feel… better. Right? The water steamed, fogging up the shower glass. She shampooed her hair, running her fingers through her scalp, but it wasn’t making her feel better. No, it was making her feel worse. She was feeling incredibly dizzy and her limbs were weak. The steam from the hot water made her even more dizzy. The shower violently swayed to one side, the world spinning too fast for Y/N to keep up. She washed out the bubbles in her hair, her body slowly sinking into the floor of the shower booth. She was now on all four, unable to stay standing. 

What was happening to her? Y/N washed her body with a loofa, still sitting on the floor of the booth, moving slowly with low energy. She washed all the bubbles off and turned off the water. She crawled out and grabbed a towel and the clothes from the countertop. She wiped away the water with the towel and she slowly pulled the clothes on, starting with her lower body. The ripped jeans she picked out were seriously annoying to put on. Her feet kept getting caught in the holes, and it was especially hard because Y/N was seeing double. She then pulled on her top and exhaled in relief. She reached for her phone. 9:13 AM. She internally screamed; she spent way too long to shower. She only had 17 more minutes to do… what?

What was number 2 on her checklist again? She couldn’t make her brain think. She was too busy trying to stay conscious. She closed her eyes, shakily bringing her legs in, moving her body into a fetal position. She rested her head on her knees, trying to stop the room from spinning so severely, trying to stop her from feeling so weak, and trying to stop herself from passing out. She felt faint and she didn’t know if she could get up. She would rather lay on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. 

“Y/N?” Someone knocked at the door, and Y/N barely recognized his voice. Her brain was not working at all. 

“Zuko?” she weakly managed to call his name. Hadn’t he gone to work? 

“Hey, are you okay? Can I come in? You’ve been in the bathroom for over 40 minutes.” 40 minutes!? How has time gone by so fast?! Y/N reached one arm up and unlocked the bathroom door, grunting at the effort. The door burst open, letting in the cool air from outside the bathroom. She sighed, and tried to look up at Zuko. “Oh my gosh, Y/N!” He kneeled down next to her, his hand immediately on her forehead, checking her temperature. “You’re burning up! What happened?”

“I- I woke up feeling sick and now I’m about to pass out,” she breathed. Her wet hair was dripping onto the white bathroom tiles. Her breathing was shallow, and her surroundings were still wobbly. Her eyesight was going wonky… why was everything blacking out? She squinted, trying to focus on Zuko, but he kept moving. “Z- Zuko, stop moving, I can’t focus on you.”

“Y/N,” he looked at her with concerned eyes. “I’m not moving.” Her mouth opened to form an “o” shape, and she blinked. She was sure he was moving. “Here, lean on me, okay?” She could hear him repositioning himself. She rested her head on the front of Zuko’s chest. She could hear his heartbeat. Thump… thump… thump…  She slumped further onto his knees as the world spun and her vision went black.

✧･ﾟ: *

“Y/N? Hey, are you alright?” Zuko was above Y/N, looking very worried.

“Z- Zuko? What time is it?” Zuko checked his phone.

“9:53, but that’s not important. You literally just passed out.”

“9:53?!” She was late! “Oh no, oh no. I need to pick up the cake and get to Katara’s!” She quickly sat up, which caused her to groan. She shouldn’t have done that; she buried her head in her hands to try and stop the room from spinning once again. 

“Hey,” Zuko gently pushed Y/N back down. “I’ll take care of it. It’s okay, you need some rest. Clearly you’re not okay.” He spoke in a soft, calm voice, which calmed her down a bit, but Y/N’s frantic eyes darted all over his face. She shook her head.

“No, I’m fine,” she insisted, despite her headache and the dizziness. She couldn’t get up, let alone drive, but she was undeniably stubborn. She had to help, even though she was definitely not fine. “I promised Katara I would help with Aang’s birthday party. The cake is under my name; only I can pick it up from the bakery. I swear, I’m fine.”

She got up to prove her point, but it backfired. Her knees collapsed from weakness, causing her to trip over herself. She clutched the side of the couch for support. Why did she have to be so dizzy? Zuko’s arms grabbed her from behind, and she lay limp, allowing him to carry her. Why did it take so much effort to stay standing?? 

“Y/N. I’m worried about you, and you definitely can’t go alone.” He sighed. “If this is really important…” Y/N eagerly nodded. It was important! “I’ll go with you. Sounds good?” Y/N nodded again. That was fine! She checked her phone. 9:58 AM! Already?! 

Oh wow, she had a lot of messages. She scrolled through her notifications... 

Katara: Hey Y/N! Are you coming?

Katara: Y/N?

Katara: Sokka and I are starting to worry…  are you okay?

Sokka: helloooooo?

Sokka: Y/N? you’re… very late ahaha

Sokka: seriously tho- hello?? can ya answer

Sokka: y/nnnn answer me :(

Sokka: heart 💔 been broke 📉 so many times ⏰ i don’t know 🤔 what to believe 

Katara: Missed Calls (4)

Sokka: Missed Calls (5)

Y/N groaned: she didn’t mean to make them worry! She was completely fine. She quickly texted them back, letting them know that she was running late but she’ll be coming soon. She clicked her phone off and got up, letting Zuko support her. Y/N was grateful; she didn’t think she could walk on her own. He led her to the car, once again looking at her worriedly. 

“Are you sure you want to go? You can just text them that you can’t make it,” he said. She waved it off. She was going to be fine. She slumped further into the seat, rubbing her temples. Her head still hurt like crazy, and on top of that, she was shivering from the cold. Why was her body like this…? “You’re cold?” She nodded. She was very cold. “Y/N… it’s 82 degrees.” Oh shoot. Now he was going to worry even more. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll be fine,” she reassured him. She sent him a smile, just to tie it in. He bit his lip, perhaps to bite back some more worried comments, but instead he started the car. The dizziness multiplied as soon as Zuko started driving. She probably should have stayed home, but it’s too late now… “Head over to umm…” Y/N racked her brain, trying to remember the name of the bakery. She closed her eyes as another headache struck her temples. She was tired of this. 

“Y/N?” Another worried glance. She had been “thinking” for too long.

“Oh, umm, the one in the plaza next to Katara’s house. It has brick walls.” Zuko changed course, heading to the bakery Y/N described. The car ride felt terrible. Every second, her head hurt, the world kept spinning, and Zuko kept on looking at her as if she was going to pass out again any minute. Which could actually be a possibility, but she put that aside.

Finally, they arrived at the bakery. Zuko gestured for Y/N to stay in the car, which she was totally fine with. She felt like she closed her eyes for a second, and when she blinked, Zuko was already back in the car with the cake in the backseat. 

“Oh, hi… Welcome back!” Y/N said. Zuko sighed.

“Y/N, you need to rest. You… look terrible.” 

“Gee.. thanks.” She knew, in fact, that if she looked as bad as she felt, she looked very terrible. “But it’s too late now! We’re practically already at Katara’s house. I can see it from here.” Zuko sighed again and started the short drive. After only a few minutes, the two pulled up in Katara’s driveway. Zuko helped Y/N out, and she was not ready. Her leg crumpled as soon as it hit the floor, but Zuko caught her. She mumbled “sorry” as she tried to stand up straight. Zuko practically carried her; she definitely could not walk on her own. Everything was spinning, including Zuko, so she trusted him to lead the way. He rang the doorbell. Sokka answered the door.

“Hey guys! Hi Zuko, didn’t know you were coming.” Y/N smiled. Sokka looked at the scene in front of him. Y/N knew that they must look really weird: she was leaning on Zuko, and Zuko was supporting her with one arm around her waist. “Y/N, you guys are getting reeaaal comfy there.”  She could see Zuko rolling his eyes. “Anyways, come in! We’re just finishing up decorating.” 

Zuko kicked his shoes off and he helped Y/N do the same. Ahh shoot. Everything spun around her once again. She shut her eyes as tight as she could until it passed. She opened her eyes, looking up at Zuko. His concerned eyes met hers, asking a silent question. Are you sure you’re okay? She nodded, sighing. 

“Hey Y/N!” Katara waved at her. 

“Sorry I’m so late, I got held up.” Katara nodded in understanding. She could feel Zuko’s eyes on her but she ignored him. She did get held up. By passing out... but she could leave out the details.

“Can you help me put this up?” Katara held up an orange banner in one hand. She read the banner: Happy birthday Appa! Appa? No, she read it again. Aang. Ugh, she couldn’t even read anymore. She climbed up the ladder with one side of the banner in her hand. Shoot. She stopped midway, gripping the edges of the metal ladder as everything spun harshly around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to squish out all of the dizziness.

“Y/N?” She heard Katara’s voice calling to her, but she couldn’t tell from where. She felt someone pulling her off the ladder. The warmth of the body told her that it was Zuko. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” someone asked her, but she couldn’t tell who. She felt Zuko pull her in tighter, but she couldn’t see anything since her eyes were completely shut. She wasn’t planning on opening them until everything was back to normal, which meant that it would be a while. She felt terrible, the room wouldn’t stop spinning, her head pounded, and everything was gross. She buried her head further into Zuko’s arms. Everything hurts so much. She wanted everything to stop.

 “Y/N?” Zuko asked her gently. 

She heard someone (Sokka?) open and close a cupboard. “Let me take your temperature. Holy- 104.8! Y/N! You shouldn’t have come here. You need to rest.”

“That’s what I was saying, but she insisted on coming.” She heard Zuko’s exasperated voice. She choked back a sob. Everything hurt so bad, the room was spinning and she couldn’t even open her eyes. She should have just stayed home. 

“Y/N? Are you going to pass out?” Katara’s worried voice asked.

“Y/N, it’s not healthy to pass out twice in one day,” Zuko whispered.

“Twice?! When did she-”

“This morning. I found her on the bathroom floor.”

“That’s why she was late..? Y/N! You didn’t have to come if you weren’t feeling well!” Everyone else mumbled in agreement.

“Hey, Y/N?” Zuko asked again, softer than before. “Can you say something?”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s okay, but you seriously need to rest, alright? It looks like it just keeps getting worse. How do you feel right now?” Zuko’s hand gripped hers. 

“Terrible.” That summed it all up. She felt herself be lifted up, and she was carried away. Zuko’s footsteps echoed in her brain. She was set down on a bed and tucked in.

“Get well soon, okay?” A tender kiss was planted on the top of her burning forehead. She was going to get well for Zuko’s sake.

A/N: that ending do be weird tho

SOOOO that kinda made no sense & it wasn’t too realistic buuut I did write a lot! Hopefully you guys liked it! If you read that mess, THANK YOU!! HUGS TO ALL!!

Please request something in my asks... I would love to write for y’all! I LOVE YOU GUYS!! STAY SAFE!!